ArticlePLoS pathogens2021
Breakdown in membrane asymmetry regulation leads to monocyte recognition of P. falciparum-infected red blood cells.
Article in PLoS pathogens, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Article
- LL-37 selectively targets Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes and exhibits antimalarial activity.PLoS pathogens · 2026Article
- PfATP2 is a flippase on the Plasmodium falciparum surface that is important for growth and influences parasite sensitivity to antiplasmodial compounds.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Insights into platelet factor 4-derived peptide macrocycles; the mechanistic basis of their rapid and selective antiplasmodial actions.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2025Article
- Reversible host cell surface remodelling limits immune recognition and maximizes survival of Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Enhancing the Intrinsic Antiplasmodial Activity and Improving the Stability and Selectivity of a Tunable Peptide Scaffold Derived from Human Platelet Factor 4.ACS infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Harnessing cholesterol uptake of malaria parasites for therapeutic applications.EMBO molecular medicine · 2024Article
- Review
- Distribution of malaria parasite-derived phosphatidylcholine in the infected erythrocyte.mSphere · 2023Article
- The enemy within: lipid asymmetry in intracellular parasite-host interactions.Emerging topics in life sciences · 2023Review
- Anti-phosphatidylserine antibody levels are low in multigravid pregnant women in a malaria-endemic area in Nigeria, and do not correlate with anti-VAR2CSA antibodies.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2023Article
- Dramatic Consequences of Reducing Erythrocyte Membrane Cholesterol on Plasmodium falciparum.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- The role of cholesterol in invasion and growth of malaria parasites.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Review
- Altered Subpopulations of Red Blood Cells and Post-treatment Anemia in Malaria.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- Structured to conquer: transport across the Plasmodium parasitophorous vacuole.Current opinion in microbiology · 2021Review
- Of membranes and malaria: phospholipid asymmetry in Plasmodium falciparum-infected red blood cells.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum relies on lipids to survive; this makes its lipid metabolism an attractive drug target. The lipid phosphatidylserine (PS) is usually confined to the inner leaflet of the red blood cell membrane (RBC) bilayer; however, some studies suggest that infection with the intracellular parasite results in the presence of this lipid in the RBC membrane outer leaflet, where it could act as a recognition signal to phagocytes. Here, we used fluorescent lipid analogues and probes to investigate the enzymatic reactions responsible for maintaining asymmetry between membrane leaflets, and found that in parasitised RBCs the maintenance of membrane asymmetry was partly disrupted, and PS was increased in the outer leaflet. We examined the underlying causes for the differences between uninfected and infected RBCs using fluorescent dyes and probes, and found that calcium levels increased in the infected RBC cytoplasm, whereas membrane cholesterol was depleted from the erythrocyte plasma membrane. We explored the resulting effect of PS exposure on enhanced phagocytosis by monocytes, and show that infected RBCs must expend energy to limit phagocyte recognition, and provide experimental evidence that PS exposure contributes to phagocytic recognition of P. falciparum-infected RBCs. Together, these findings underscore the pivotal role for PS exposure on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes for in vivo interactions with the host immune system, and provide a rationale for targeted antimalarial drug design.
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